Triangle swimmers don't just compete in the area. Some of them make a splash on the regional and national scenes.
Victoria Mitchell of the Marlins Of Raleigh-Wolfpack Aquatics is one of those swimmers with big achievements, and she added another this past weekend.
Mitchell qualified for the 2012 U.S. Olympic swimming trials while competing at the Southeastern Senior Sectionals - officially the Speedo Champions Series Eastern Section Southern Zone meet - held Thursday through Sunday at the University of Georgia's Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Ga.
The recent Cary High graduate swam the 200-meter backstroke in 2 minutes, 16.13 seconds to easily beat the qualifying time of 2:17.99, coach Paul Silver reported.
Mitchell next will compete Aug. 2-6 at the U.S. Senior Nationals in Palo Alto, Calif.
The Olympic trials qualifying time was the first for Mitchell, and she achieved the time at a meet during which she was training for the summer nationals, Silver said. The Olympic trials are scheduled for June 25 to July 2 in Omaha, Neb.
Another MOR-Wolfpack swimmer, Lillie Smith, a rising sophomore at Cary, qualified for senior nationals with a 2:18.59 in the 200 backstroke, just .60 off the Olympic trials qualifying time, Silver said.
The competition drew more than 600 swimmers, including 2004 Olympic gold medalist Laure Manadou of France, who was followed by French television crews during her first comeback competition, Silver said.
MOR-Wolfpack finished sixth with 439.5 points. Atlanta’s Dynamo Swim Club finished first with 750, followed in the top five by the Athens (Ga.) Bulldogs (593), Charlotte's SwimMAC Carolina (591), Auburn Aquatics (562) and Louisville, Ky.'s Lakeside Swim Team (510). Also finishing among the top 10 were Chapel Hill's North Carolina Aquatic Club, ninth with 270 points, and Duke Aquatics, 10th with 250.
Among the notable achievements for the MOR-Wolfpack swimmers was the men's 400 medley relay team's first-place finish. The victory came in a time of 3:56.02.
Twenty-four other MOR-Wolfpack swimmers reached finals swims by placing in the top 32. They were Dave Barnes, Dan Basler, Conor Brennan, David Craig, Alex Eiden, Kirsten Esplin, Emily Facchine, Nicole Giamber, Clay Harmon, Taylor Harris, Allison Hendren, Miffy Henley, Hannah Lincoln, Adam Linker, Katelyn Linker, Cameron Martin, Joe Martin, Ben Miller, Facundo Monteiro, Matt Neland, Geoffrey Oyler, Kendall Pena, Tessa Pena and Time Schade.
"We had one of our best meets ever and it was fun to see Lillie and Victoria make their qualifying times," Silver said in a team news release. "Our swimmers worked real hard in April and May, and it really showed. We were so much stronger than other swimmers in the meet on the second half of each race."
TEAM SCORES
1. Dynamo Swim Club (Atlanta) 758.5
2. Athens (Ga.) Bulldog Swim Club 593
3. SwimMAC Carolina 591
4. Auburn Aquatics 562
5. Lakeside Swim Team 510
6. Marlins Of Raleigh-Wolfpack Aquatics 439.5
7. Stingrays Swimming 313
8. Cardinal Aquatics 280
9. North Carolina Aquatic Club 270
10. Duke Aquatics 250
11. SwimAtlanta 226
12. Georgia Coastal Aquatic Team 140
13. Aiken-Augusta Swim League 103.5
14. Hilton Head Aquatics 93
15. Saint Petersburg Aquatics 84
16. Marietta Marlins 76
16. Mount Pleasant Swim Club 76
18. Wildcat Aquatics 63
19. Greensboro Swimming Association 59
20. Chattahoochee Gold 54.5
21. Seahawk Aquatics 46
22. Clemson Aquatic Team 45
23. Hershey Aquatic Club 38
24. Star Aquatics 35
25. Oakland Live Y'Ers 31
26. Myrtle Beach Riptides 29
27. Swim Macon 28
27. Three Village Swim Club 28
29. Yellow Jacket 27
30. Delaware Swim Team 21
31. Pilot Aquatic Club-Knoxville 17
32. Bluegrass Swim Team 16
33. YMCA of the Triangle Area (Raleigh) 14
34. Navy Swimming 13
35. Dekalb Aquatics 12
36. Central Florida Aquatics 11
37. Triton Swimming of Louisville 6
38. New Wave Swim Team (Wake County) 3
39. Etown Dolphins 1
